Playoff hopes on line for BHS

Thursday

Oct 31, 2013 at 11:54 AM

Elasticity.

Elasticity.

Extension.

Strain.

Tension.

Those words all add up to create the concept of "stretch run" — and that’s the reality facing the Bartlesville High School Bruin varsity football team as it prepares for Friday’s showdown at Ponca City. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

A loss, and the Bruins would see their playoff hopes blown away in the dust of disappointment.

On paper, the Bruins (4-4, 2-3) are favored against the winless Ponca City Wildcats (0-8, 0-5), in the District 6A-1 encounter.

But, Bruin head coach John McKee knows football games are won on the field and not on paper.

"Just because they’re 0-and-8, their kids want to win, too," he said Wednesday. "This is a home game for them and, looking at the games they have left, this may be the only game they think the can win."

However, McKee likes his Bruins’ chances to win, if they take the savvy approach.

"We’re going to get their best shot, but we need to stay focused and take care of business the way we can," he said. "We’ve got to come out and match their intensity and play hard."

When it comes to playing hard, McKee expects the Wildcat quarterback to be fired up and to try to run the ball hard.

The Bruins also have displayed the same kind of desire, while carving out considerable more success during this season’s journey.

Take away two mistake-plagued losses and the Bruins could have six wins and be vying this week to secure a playoff sport.

They suffered their two other losses against teams — Owasso and Tulsa Union — who were clearly better on those particular evenings.

Even so, the Bruins never stopped battling.

In last week’s 58-0 setback against district bully Tulsa Union, the Bruins trailed 35-0 at halftime, but came out and essentially played even — if not won — the flow of play in the third quarter.

The Bruin defense forced three Union turnovers — on three-straight possessions — to give Bartlesville a chance to do some damage.

"We were still fighting and playing the game," McKee said about his team’s second-half effort last week. "Our kids are resilient. They’re going to go out and fight you. … I like where we’re going."

The Bruins will be looking to build on that battling spirit — as well as a very dangerous offense and opportunistic defense — in Friday’s do-or-done game.

A key to Bartlesville’s offense — which is averaging approximately 400 yards per game — has been the varsity maturation of sophomore quarterback Colton Penrod.

Penrod has completed passes to 10 different receivers; six different receivers have caught at least one touchdown.

In addition, four pass catchers have registered more than 200 yards receiving, while one more has a 100-plus yards and two more are closing in on the 100-yard mark.

McKee attributed Penrod’s use of several receivers to ‘‘his reading defense and trying to get the ball to the open guy. He’s still a sophomore and sometimes he tries to force the ball ... when he doesn’t have to."

Part of his development as a quarterback is to learn to ‘‘just take what the defense gives you and throw to the open guy," McKee added. ‘‘We’re going to throw it to the open guy and have faith that guy will make it happen."

The biggest keys for success Friday will be for ‘‘us to come out on fire, execute offensively and play lights out on defense and put everything together," McKee said.